More snags for area's passengers

New carry-on rules mean even longer lines at airports.

It was British Airways customer service agent Lorraine Bianchi's job Thursday to pass out the small plastic bags that became the only allowable carry-on luggage for London-bound passengers.

"Nothing electronic. Everything in your pockets must be put in the bag. Only medicines allowed are prescriptions, and they must match the name on the passport," Bianchi called out to dozens of passengers waiting to board the 6 p.m. flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport.

Passengers immediately got to work filling their small plastic bags with prescription medicine, wallets, books, playing cards, sunglasses.

Hours after British authorities announced they had foiled a terrorist plot to blow up planes bound for the United States from the United Kingdom, weary passengers on domestic and international flights faced a new set of security challenges along with the familiarity of long check-in lines.

"The worst thing is no iPods," said Dafydd Llewelyn, 17, who was flying with his family to Wales.

The carry-on ban of electronic devices, including cell phones and laptops, only applied to overseas flights. But regardless of destination, everyone, from the Lehigh Valley to Los Angeles, was prohibited from bringing anything containing liquid onto a plane, including water bottles, suntan lotion, juice boxes, makeup, toothpaste, perfume and tiny bottles of liquor. Baby formula and medicines were exempt but had to be inspected.

Liquids were banned because authorities said the terrorists planned to assemble bombs on 10 aircraft using a disguised liquid explosive. It would be detonated by such electronic devices as a disposable camera or a music player.

Passengers could put the banned items in their packed bags to be loaded into the cargo hold or throw them away.

Arriving at Lehigh Valley International Airport, Ellen Tousignant, of Wake Forest, N.C., said she was forced to dump $300 to $400 worth of haircare, perfume and cosmetics at the terminal in Raleigh.

Lines were long there, information was short, and there was no time to repack and return to baggage check, said Tousignant, who was in Allentown to help with the implementation of an electronic medical records management system.

"I just had to dump half my suitcase," she said. "There's got to be a different way. That's a lot of money I just threw in the trash can."

At Philadelphia International Airport, the line to move through security in Terminal D snaked back to short-term parking and looped around twice.

"After Sept. 11, it was ongoing for a good long period, but as far as lines at security points, I don't remember ever seeing lines this long, even during the worst weather conditions," airport spokesman Mark Pesce said.

He estimated the wait to be more than an hour to get beyond the security checkpoint, but some frustrated passengers had stories of much longer delays.

"I have been waiting for two hours," said Art Fischer of Warwick, Md., who had already missed a scheduled flight to Hartford, Conn., and still had a ways to go before reaching the front of the security line. "I could have driven there faster than this by now."

After learning about the airborne threat early Thursday, Pennsylvania homeland security officials beefed up security around the state's six international airports, including LVIA.

There, white plastic trash bags overflowed with shampoo, cologne, makeup and bottled water, but the day passed like any other.

"People are surprised if they have not heard about [the security changes]," said Susan Kittle, the airport's development director. "But all in all, people adapted very well."

The news of the thwarted terror attacks combined with the new restrictions rattled Allentown resident Kay Sullivan's 14-year-old daughter, Courtney, who was flying to Cleveland to visit her grandmother.

"We got here, and she had to take all of her fingernail polish and lip gloss out," Sullivan said. "She's already nervous, so that didn't help."

Others prepared before arriving. Headed to Toronto for a fashion event, Jane Roncoroni, owner of a Bethlehem women's clothing boutique, watched the news in the morning and switched her toiletries from her carry-on to her checked luggage.

"It actually made me a little more efficient," she said.

Throughout Philadelphia Airport, employees held open large plastic bags for passengers to get rid of anything containing liquid from their carry-on luggage. Some passengers chose to dispose of banned items themselves, so the metal rail along an electronic walkway was littered with toothpaste tubes, deodorant sticks, a jar of Vicks Vapor rub and cans of shaving foam.

Ken Bria, a Southwest Airlines customer service manager, told a group of women who were in town for a convention that they had to throw away an expensive bottle of vodka. He said the four women chose to stand in line and drink the bottle before disposing of it.